


Cakes in the Air

by greyj30



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: :), :) but also :(, Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fatherhood, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I am so sorry, Sad, Sad Ending, Wholesome, aang was trying his best but probably unintentionally emotionally neglected his other kids, unintentionally sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyj30/pseuds/greyj30
Summary: Aang and his kids have a (mostly) nice day as he continues the Air Nomad (or maybe just Monk Gyatso) tradition of pranking children
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: Avatar Ficlets/Short Stories





	Cakes in the Air

**Author's Note:**

> find the link to the fanart that inspired this [here](https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0lpvBF-K3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)
> 
> Yes the title is a really bad pun for Leaves from the Vine, no I regret nothing.
> 
> this was meant to be happy but then I listened to leaves from the vine twice and started dry sobbing so this occurred, I swear to god this was going to be sweet.

It had been a lazy afternoon at the Southern Air Temple. 

Aang had made traditional Air Nomad cakes with Kya and Bumi while Katara was putting Tenzin down for a nap.

“Be careful,” Aang said in a hushed voice, as he helped Bumi and Kya remove the cakes from the oven. 

Kya and Bumi looked at the product of their baking and were both a little disappointed. “Dad?” Bumi whined, “Why are they so… deflated?”

“That’s because they’re not done yet, Bumi. We- well, _I_ still have more to do to perfect them.” Aang answered. “Before I finish them, can one of you run and get your mother? I want Tenzin to be here for this.”

“But he didn’t even help-” Kya began before she saw Bumi shake his head. Swallowing the rest of her protests, Kya half-ran and half-stomped to the nursery to bring Tenzin to the kitchen with Katara. 

Tenzin was about four and was just starting to be able to airbend, something that neither Bumi or Kya had shown any potential for. While Kya, who was nine, had been learning waterbending with her mother, Bumi hadn’t shown any signs that he was a bender at all even at eleven, and as the firstborn son of the Avatar he wanted to bend, he _expected_ to be able to. But he couldn’t, and it just didn’t seem like that would ever be something he’d be able to do. And while it probably wasn’t intentional, Aang treated him differently for it. Bumi was Bumi, at this point he would take any interaction with his dad he could get.

Snapping out of his own thoughts, Bumi watched as Kya returned with Katara, who was holding a squirming Tenzin, Bumi thought to himself, _He had this, at least._ Tenzin wriggled out of Katara’s grasp to join his siblings, smiling widely. One day, Tenzin would represent the head of the Air Nomads, and would smile considerably less. Today was not that day.

“Now watch closely,” Aang whispered, a smile slipping out as all three children leaned forward to watch as Aang airbended the tops of the cakes into perfect swirled peaks.

“Oh!” They all gasped appreciatively. Tenzin looked at Aang’s hands, and then his own, as if he could will himself to instantly master that trick as well. Bumi and Kya crossed their arms a beat later. _Airbending,_ they both thought wryly to themselves.

Still grinning broadly, Aang turned to address his youngest child, “Tenzin, do you know what Monk Gyatso would always tell me?”

“What did he tell you, Dad?” he asked in wonder, staring up at his father. Kya and Bumi shrank back a little, but they were getting used to being ignored.

“The true secret of the cakes,” he paused for dramatic effect, “is in the gooey center!” with a flick of his wrist, Aang shot all three cakes into the faces of his children who all began squealing as the sweet frosting and filling clung to their clothes and hair. For a minute, Bumi and Kya forgot about how much seeing Aang dote on Tenzin hurt, because in this moment it was equal. It was the four of them laughing together, three of them covered in cake. Bumi and Kya made eye contact and nodded to each other, making a silent deal before simultaneously smearing more cake on Tenzin’s face. Tenzin stopped laughing for a second and frowned, about to cry. Aang hadn’t noticed yet, so Bumi and Kya sighed and smeared cake on eachother’s face, earning bubbly laughter from Tenzin as he immediately forgot what they had done.

“Aang!” Katara sighed, looking at the state of the kitchen and her children.

“Katara, it’s funny!” He protested, letting Tenzin smear cake on his robes with a giggle. In one big motion, he swept all three children into his arms for a hug, but somehow ended up carrying only Tenzin. Bumi and Kya hung back, leaning against the wall. It somehow always ended like this for them. _It was fine,_ they told themselves. They’ll get used to it. They had to.

“Tenzin,” he said excitedly, “I’m going to teach you so much about our culture.” He spun around the kitchen, holding Tenzin in the air and laughing. Then he seemed to remember his other children and paused, patting each one on the head, “Bumi, Kya, can you please help your mother clean up our mess? I love you sweetie,” he said, pecking Katara on the cheek as he walked away with Tenzin, talking animatedly about Monk Gyatso’s other teachings.

“Mom?” Bumi asked, looking up at his mother with wide eyes. He fiddled anxiously with his hands in distress.

“What is it, Bumi?” Katara answered sweetly, beginning to clean up the flour off the counters.

“Why does Dad ignore us?” 

The question hung in the air for a moment. A beat too long, perhaps. There were so many things Katara could have said. She could have told Bumi that of course Aang didn’t ignore them, that he cared for them all equally and always showed it. But she couldn’t lie to her own children.

Katara took a second, nodding slowly as she processed what Bumi had asked. She turned to face him and wrapped him and Kya in a tight hug. “Oh sweetie, he doesn’t do it on purpose. When he was younger, barely older than you now, he lost everything. His whole family, his whole culture. He just gets excited to share that with Tenzin.”

“I know, he told us that a while ago.” Bumi said, still lonely, “But why does it hurt so much?”

“Sometimes these things just do.”

**Author's Note:**

> ok this is legit making me very sad I am So Sorry
> 
> please comment below or follow or message me on my [tumblr](https://greyj30.tumblr.com/) for more :)


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